Modular ironing board top

ABSTRACT

The present invention teaches a modular ironing board top constructed from at least two modular board members. The board members are mechanically joined via a pin-slot mechanism, or any other similar suitable mechanism. Utilizing modular design allows for the size of the ironing board surface to be flexibly determined according, e.g., to the size of the garments. A plastic modular ironing board top is more-economical to construct and features a more stable and secured structure, and a more convenient and practical usage than a one-piece top while occupying less storage space when not in use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 2006200557181, filed Mar. 6, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to household ironing boards, and specifically, to modular ironing board tops.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional ironing board tops are constructed from a one-piece plastic body. If the body is small in size, the use of the ironing board will be limited to only a few kinds of garments and the like, but if it is large, then it will be difficult to pack and ship the ironing board, and it will occupy large storage space when it is not in use. Furthermore, one-piece fixed-size board tops are relatively expensive to manufacture because they require large equipment investment in the nature of injection molding machines and the plastic molds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention arose in the context of the above problems. Specifically, it is one objective of the present invention to provide a modular ironing board top for an ironing board capable of being joined and detached flexibly to form a desired size ironing area that conforms to the size of the garments to be ironed, yet being capable of being shipped conveniently in a compact package.

To achieve the above objective, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ironing board top constructed of at least two detachable board members.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the ironing board top comprises a first board member, a second board member, and a third board member. The board members are joined together by a joining means resulting in an optimum surface area. The joining means comprises one or more slots and one or more pins located in said first board member, said second board member, and/or said third board member. The pins are insertable and fit into the slots so as to provide a secure yet non-permanent junction of the board members. One or more pins are located in the second board member and are matchable to the one or more slots in the first board member; one or more slots are located in the second board member and are matchable to one or more pins located in the third board member. Other combinations of slots and pins are also possible. Either the slots or the pins are universal to each other, namely, the pins located in the second board member are insertable inserted into either the slots in the first board member or the slots in the third board member.

As a result, the configuration of the ironing board top provides the following advantages (1) The ironing board can be packaged in a relatively compact box and occupies a minimum amount of space when shipped or stored due to its modular design; (2) The size of the board top can be set to be flexibly small or big as desired, e.g., based on the size of the garments to be ironed; (3) The strength of the board top is reinforced by a set of strings on the back side of the board top; (4) The board top is not only breathable but also cost-effective owing to the plurality of holes perforated in the board top; (5) The structure of the board top is stabilized by an arcuate design of the cross section of the rail disposed on the back side of the board top; (6) The board top further comprises (a) one or more self-tapping screw bores for easy connecting with other parts, (b) one or more mounts for easy connecting an iron holder, and (c) one or more snaps for covering the board with a cloth in a wrinkle-free manner; and (7) The rounded cylindrical flange of the edge of the board top offers good feel and a strong load-bearing capacity.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent after reading the ensuing description of the non-limiting and illustrative embodiments and viewing the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the ironing board top in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a third board member in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a view on an enlarged scale of section A of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a view on an enlarged scale of section B of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a view on an enlarged scale of section C of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates one type of connection between board members in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates another type of connection between board members in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a board top for an ironing board in accordance with the present invention is constructed from at least two detachable board members. In the present embodiment, three board members, namely, a first board member 1, a second board member 2, and a third board member 3 are joined together to form the board top. Accordingly, the board top comprises a first board member 1, a second board member 2, and a third board member 3. In certain embodiment, the board top is made entirely of plastic materials. In certain other embodiment the board comprises non-plastic elements.

The first board member 1, the second board member 2, and the third board member 3 are detachably joined with each other by a joining means. For example, one or more slots 4, 6 and one or more pins 5, 7 are disposed within the first board member 1, the second board member 2, and the third board member 3. The pins are insertable and fit into the slots so as to provide a secure yet detachable junction of the board members. Either the slots or the pins are universal to each other, namely, the pins 7 can be inserted into either the slots 6 or the slots 4. The ironing board top has preferably a substantially flat upper surface to enable ironing of garments and the like thereon. Although the ironing board top illustrated in FIG. 1 is constructed from three board members, it is to be understood that other configurations including a higher or a lower number of board members can be employed.

As shown in FIG. 6, a “T” shaped pin and slot structure can be adopted for the active conjunction between board members, and as shown in FIG. 7, an “L” shaped structure can be adopted for the active conjunction between board members.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cross section of the board top is designed to be of arcuate shape, and as shown in FIG. 3, the cross section of the rail on the back side of the board top is similarly designed as an arcuate shape contributing to the stability of the board top. As shown in FIG. 4, one or more snaps 13 fixedly mounted on the back side of the board top comprises (a) one or more hooks 14 fixed on the back side of the board top, and (b) an elastic plate 15. The snaps 13 are used to facilitate covering of the board top with a cloth cover, and allow for the cloth cover to be smooth and wrinkle-free. The edge of the board top is flanged to be of a rounded cylindrical shape so as to provide a comfortable feel to touch and a strong load-bearing capacity. A mount 12, shown in FIG. 5, is disposed on the back side of the third board member 3. The mount 12 connects the board top with an iron holder.

When the ironing board is in use, the board members are joined together by inserting the one or more pins into the one or more slots of the board members to form a common plane, and then the board top is covered with a cloth cover, where the cloth cover is fixed by pulling the edge of the cloth cover to fit it into the one or more snaps 13. When the ironing board is not in use, the board top can be detached by unhooking the edge of the cloth cover to detach it firstly, and then by pulling out the pins from the slots to detach the board members from each other. If the “L” shape structure is adopted for the conjunction, the board top can be detached by uplifting slightly the board member having the slots firstly, and then by unhinging it from other board members.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications to fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A modular ironing board top comprising at least two modular board members.
 2. The modular ironing board top of claim 1 comprising a first board member; a second board member; and a third board member.
 3. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member is mechanically connected to said second board member; and said second board member is mechanically connected to said third board member.
 4. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member, said second board member and said third board member each independently comprises one or more slots and one or more pins; and said pins are insertable into said slots to provide a mechanical connection between said first board member and said second board member and between said second board member and said third board member.
 5. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member comprises one or more pins; said second board member comprises one or more pins and one or more slots; said third board member comprises one or more slots; and said pins are insertable into said slots to provide a mechanical connection between said first board member and said second board member and between said second board member and said third board member.
 6. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member comprises one or more pins; said second board member comprises one or more slots; said third board member comprises one or more pins; and said pins are insertable into said slots to provide a mechanical connection between said first board member and said second board member and between said second board member and said third board member.
 7. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member comprises one or more slots; said second board member comprises one or more pins; said third board member comprises one or more slots; and said pins are insertable into said slots to provide a mechanical connection between said first board member and said second board member and between said second board member and said third board member.
 8. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein said first board member comprises one or more slots; said second board member comprises one or more pins and one or more slots; said third board member comprises one or more pins; and said pins are insertable into said slots to provide a mechanical connection between said first board member and said second board member and between said second board member and said third board member.
 9. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 made of a plastic material.
 10. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 said board top having a back side, wherein said back side is mounted with a plurality of strings.
 11. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 said board top having a back side, wherein said back side is perforated with a plurality of holes.
 12. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 said board top having a back side, wherein said back side is mounted with one or more arcuate rails and a plurality of self-tapping screw bores.
 13. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 comprising further an iron holder, wherein said first board member, said second board member, or said third board member is mechanically attached to said iron holder.
 14. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 further comprising a means for attaching a cloth cover.
 15. The modular ironing board top of claim 14 wherein said means for attaching a cloth cover comprises one or more snaps having one or more hooks.
 16. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 having a board edge wherein said edge is flanged with rounded cylindrical shape.
 17. The modular ironing board top of claim 2 wherein the cross section of said board top is arcuate.
 18. A modular ironing board top comprising a plurality modular board members detachably joined by a joining means.
 19. A modular ironing board top comprising a plurality modular board members detachably joined by a plurality of pins and slots. 